


Wash Away

by the10amongstthese3s



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, One Shot, it's okay to not be okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the10amongstthese3s/pseuds/the10amongstthese3s
Summary: When Anne Boleyn develops a new, strange habit, it takes a bad night and plenty of tears for Catherine of Aragon to understand why.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 95





	Wash Away

Anne Boleyn was an inherently annoying person. The type of person you imagine being berated by their exasperated mother day after day as a child. The sort of person you may occasionally fantasise about slapping the smug grin off their face. 

You see, Anne was a trickster,

A prankster,

A mischief-maker.

There was nothing the young woman loved more than the look on her victim’s face after a well-executed prank. And there was no one she enjoyed pranking more than the pious, stuck-up, Catherine of Aragon.

Now, it’s not that Anne didn’t like Catherine. In fact, she loved the Spanish queen like a sister. Unfortunately for poor Catherine, though, Anne had a strange way of expressing affection. A way that could easily drive one mad if their tolerance failed them for even a moment. 

It’s a good job Catherine had centuries of practise dealing with the irritating young woman, then!

Since their reincarnation, the six queens had become family to each other, and Catherine had learnt to understand Anne’s thinking process - or lack thereof. She knew that sometimes the hyperactive girl would accidentally make flour explosions whilst in need of a way to distract her scattered, fast-moving thoughts. Just like she knew that more intentional annoyances, like her games of knock a door run at Catherine’s bedroom door or the pages being “accidentally” glued together in the woman’s bible, were usually a cry for attention.

Sometimes though, the incessant giggling and constant jokes grew too much for the tolerant queen. On those days, she couldn’t help her outbursts in response to Anne’s actions. Thankfully though, those days came a lot less often once the two got to know each other better.

Still though, sometimes Anne Boleyn grew too annoying for anyone to dismiss. 

For example, every night over the past few weeks, Catherine had been awoken around 2am by the sound of running water. A constant stream coming from the bathroom that could last anywhere from five minutes to an hour. 

2am showers may not sound so bad, but when they’re keeping you awake all night, every night before a double show day, you have every right to get mad. That’s what Catherine told herself anyway, even when the other women in the house didn’t seem to notice Anne’s new habit. When she brought it up with Cleves, the woman gave a simple chuckle and made a joke along the lines of “at least she’s showering now.”

Seeing that nobody else was growing as impatient as her with the girl, Catherine decided not to bring it up. After a few more weeks with interrupted sleep though, the woman snapped.

It was 3am when the woman finally decided to confront Anne, following her from the bathroom into her bedroom with an exhausted look on her face. The younger queen was confused at first, but kept walking, unsure what her friend would want to speak with her about in the middle of the night.

“ _This_ has to stop.”

Anne wasn’t sure what Aragon meant for a moment until the woman gestured to the towel in her hand, a serious look on her face. “You can’t keep waking me up at night, Anne. I don’t know if this is funny to you, but if I keep going on stage so exhausted somebody’s going to end up injured,” Catherine reasoned, trying her best to keep her temper under control, even with the sleep deprivation gnawing at her.

For a while, the girl said nothing at all, giving a simple nod of acknowledgement. As Catherine left the room though, she could’ve sworn she heard a mumbled apology spill from the younger queen’s lips. 

It stopped after that. No more 2am showers. No more laying awake in bed all night for Aragon. To her surprise, Anne didn’t try to argue with her about it the next morning or complain to the others about it. In fact, the topic was dropped completely.

After almost a month of glorious rest and no pesky gurgling of drains, Catherine had almost forgotten about the late-night showers completely. _“What a strange habit,”_ the woman commented to herself one night, before shrugging it off and returning to her book, never paying the situation another glance.

That is, until almost five weeks after Catherine had confronted Anne.

It was 2am, once again, when the woman was jolted from sleep. This time though, the sound that had woken her didn’t come from the bathroom. This time, a pained cry had come from her own mouth against her will.

A mixture of sweat and tears trailed down her face as she sobbed, soaking her duvet as she attempted to stifle her cries. After a moment, she found herself focusing so heard on breathing that she didn’t even notice the girl that entered her room until she felt the bed dip beside her. As soon as a hand wrapped itself around her waist, Catherine lost it. She buried her face against her friend’s shoulder and openly sobbed, struggling for breath as a hand gently stroked up and down her shivering spine. 

“Just breathe, Ara. Focus on my voice and breathe.”

After what felt like a million years, Catherine’s breathing finally evened out and her tears dried to salty scars across her cheeks. Still though, the woman felt hollow. A shell of herself. She barely registered Anne by her side anymore, slender hands still tracing her back in a comforting way she no longer felt.

“Wanna talk about it?” 

Of course, the suggestion earned nothing more than a blank stare and a shake of the woman’s head but at least it was something. Any reply was better than none, Anne knew. Thinking for a moment, Anne gently rested her head on the woman’s shoulder and made another quiet proposal.

“You know, when I feel how you do right now, a shower always helps.”

Catherine was too emotionally exhausted to care what Anne was saying but gave a small, slow nod in the hopes that something would make her feel magically better. So, with a sympathetic smile, Anne helped the woman to her feet and carefully lead her to the bathroom, helping her to sit in the tub as she started the shower running. 

At first, the Spanish queen didn’t understand. Why on earth would Anne think attempting to drown her would help? Feeling Anne carefully move the shower to wash over her though, the woman suddenly felt at peace.

“Just listen to the way the water runs, okay? Feel how it washes over your skin so soothingly. Don’t think about anything else,” Anne whispered, gently massaging shampoo into the woman’s scalp as she began to relax.

She was right. The way the warm water caressed Catherine’s skin so delicately calmed the woman in an instant. The sound of the droplets pattering against the tub was so serene that the woman caught herself growing so relaxed she feared she may fall asleep. With Anne there though, she knew she didn’t have to worry about that. So, she did the only thing she could.

She let herself relax.

Let the water wash away her worries.

Suddenly, it clicked for the woman. Anne wasn’t showering in the middle of the night to annoy her. It was simply a coping mechanism. A surprisingly healthy one for the damaged, grieving mother. 

Noticing the apologetic look on the older queen’s face, Anne simply hushed her and gave a comforting smile, prompting her to retrain her focus back onto the water that enveloped her body in a warm embrace. For now, all that mattered was the reflective ripples that gathered beneath her, and the droplets on the tiles beside her that glimmered like diamonds.

From that day on, Catherine never complained again about those 2am showers. In fact, the woman struggled to sleep without the soothing sound of running water outside her bedroom door. 

It's funny to think that even a trickster,

A prankster,

A mischief-maker, like Anne Boleyn has her bad days but that’s alright. Sometimes we all need 2am showers to remind us that we’re going to be okay. Catherine understood that now.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, my loves! 💚 Remember, healthy coping habits are important. It's okay to not be okay, but keep yourselves safe for me 🦆
> 
> (It's been a long time since I wrote properly so I apologise for the cheesy ending, once again.)


End file.
